Citrus Tree Update: How Did It Survive?
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2024
- In February of 2021, a brutal winter storm swept through Texas. In this citrus tree update, I’ll address ongoing winter weather challenges in my growing region, the steps and missteps that I’ve taken, and how you can better protect your citrus tree from winter weather. Check out the previous update here: • RESTORING A COLD DAMAG...
Don't miss this video on Texas Gardening History: • TIPS FOR WINTER GARDEN...
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:42 Three hard winters
03:36 Staging a comeback
05:04 Pruning citrus
06:24 A revised strategy
08:38 Outtakes - Навчання та стиль
Glad your grapefruit is hanging in there! At least the drought is breaking, hopefully we won’t get a bad cold snap this year and your tree can regain its strength.
Thank you! I won't make the same mistake again after this tree has shown so much resilience.
I drive 3ft pieces of rebar into the ground squared around my carambola here in Florida zone 9. I then take a 3/4" pvc cross and glue in 10ft sections of 3/4" pvc. I then slowly bend each of the four pieces glued to the cross over and slip onto each piece of rebar sticking out of the ground about 10". Once the dome is achieved, I cover with an old boat cover. I install a small 1500 watt milk house heater under the cover and set to frost temp. I have a lychee, longan, and two guava species I protect when Temps drop down into the low 30s. I've been doing this three years, and by the time all danger of frost has passed, I've got trees loaded with fruit.
Nice work!
Glad it is still kicking! A suggestion: Most frost covers (like polypropylene) are able to be sewn together! I put the sewing machine on the workbench in the garage so there is room to maneuver. I've been able to take standard 6' wide frost cloths and make them any width I need (like 20'). It is helpful to take bright thread (orange) and sew a tiny seam stright through the middle of the cloth so in the garden you can easily see where the center is when you are placing it. Plus that seam makes folding a lot easier. I also use a sharpie to write the size of the cloth and what it is for (ex. 'grapefruit') if I have several of them in storage. In these Texas winters where it can hit 14F - use a tarp instead. I've found the frost covers work only to about 28F. You need a tarp if colder. But, those can be bought in 20' widths a lot easier - but they can also be sewn, lol!
Nice! Thanks for the tips.
What a stunning butterfly shot 🦋📸
Thanks! With my superb archival skills it only took me 45 minutes to locate 😅
We lost a 20 plus ft orange tree also, i had planted in like 1998 from a seed. That was for aure a crazy storm, glad to see someone in the ATX looks like east austin doing gardening.
That’s a tough one, same happened to my neighbors across the street.
Thanks for the tips Scott! I plan on planting a currently potted Improved Meyer Lemon at some point, and this will come in handy when I need to protect it and can no longer bring it in during the cold winter months here in Austin 👍🏼
🙏🏼✨
Great content Scott, thanks, as alawys.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙏🏼✨
Delicious Grapefruit!
Great information, thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!✨
I have been using a string of Christmas mini lights to add supplemental heat on those cold days. The row cover traps the heat, and the trees seem to like it.
That can make all the difference on the coldest nights.
I saw the Christmas light tip from another southern gardener, he was specific that they need to be incandescent, which is fairly uncommon. LED light don't create heat.
I would wood frame a 2x4 poly greenhouse off side of house to heat that big tree and it could have a clear window for view. You could tarp it maybe with black weed cloth too.
Thanks for the idea 👍🏼✨
You ever thought putting a portable diy greenhouse cover around it
I haven't, it's mild here for most of the fall and winter and fabric covers seem more economical and easy to store.
@@newgardenroad my neighbors stuck some fence posts in ground and just wrap it in plastic tarp during winter then take it off when do
Wow you in zone 8a
Formerly 8b, now 9a 🤷🏻♂️
@@newgardenroad yea that's right so you colder winters than DFW then we get some cold winters but only briefly
Hi, I've got a lemon tree which I grew up from seed many years ago. It's in my balcony, facing north in a pot with a diameter of 40cm.
I live in Rome, Italy and during winter the temperatures never fall down below 0°C. This year for example the minimum winter temperature was 5°C.
However I covered it up in tnt clothes and very very sparingly watered it, say one shallow sip every month, and never fertilized it for the fear of applaying too much fertilizer.
To cut a long story short in the springtime the tree kept loosing almost all its green leaves that were overwintered but the leaves that remained on the trees were perfect. Just last week I soaked all the rootball with some nutrients (a liquid citrus fertilizer plus some mychorrizae). Next day all the remaining leaves were chlorotic. For fearing of having done damage I took the tree out fo the pot but the roots were not rotten, I mean some were but say 10%. I repotted it in new container with a fresh potting mix (4:1 potting mix:compost). Inoticed that the new growth is deep green and perfect.
now the question: the fact that I never fertilized this tree during winter and springtime and watered it very shallowly can be the cause of what's the tree is showing now to me?
It's hard to say, but possibly it lost some roots and had to drop some leaves accordingly.
@@newgardenroad suprisingly, after having repotted the lemon tree every branch now seems to have put out new buds. Next treatment would be some Trichoderma asperellum with a generous root drench...